Bartow Middle School Health Science Teacher Could Lose Job Over Behavior With Students

By MATTHEW PLEASANTTHE LEDGER

Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 11:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 11:29 p.m.

BARTOW | Polk school officials are considering whether to fire a Bartow Middle School teacher after police and school investigators scrutinized his behavior with female students, including the way he touched them during class exercises.

Jerry Coe, 46, hired in 2011 as a health science teacher, has been on paid leave since November, when two separate investigations began into his conduct.

Many of the allegations surround how Coe, an EMT who taught a medical-skills class, touched students while demonstrating medical techniques. A Bartow police officer called his tactics "concerning" in an investigative report, but a state prosecutor concluded no criminal acts had been uncovered.

Superintendent John Stewart deemed the school system investigator's findings serious enough to dismiss Coe, the school system told the teacher in a Jan. 30 letter. Don Wilson, a school system lawyer, said an employee's behavior doesn't have to be criminal to be cause for firing.

"The legal standard to determine that a crime occurred is different than the legal standards under which an employee can be terminated," Wilson said.

Coe has requested a hearing before an administrative law judge, who will weigh evidence and recommend whether School Board members should fire him at their March 19 meeting.

Reached by phone, Coe called the allegations lies.

"The truth will all come out at the hearing in front of a judge," he said.

The school system began investigating Coe on Nov. 13 after a student told her father that Coe inappropriately touched several female students. The father reported the allegations to Bartow Middle Principal Angela Gordon.

Police focused on how Coe touched students while demonstrating various medical exams in front of class. Students told police Coe seemed to choose female students for demonstrations. They described how he once demonstrated checking a patient for injuries and used the back of his hand to touch a female student's stomach and on or near her breast.

Some students told police that Coe told them he was going to show them how to check a patient in a manner that wouldn't be considered sexual battery.

At least one student told police she thought the way Coe touched students was inappropriate. But several others — including one who'd been touched in front of class — told police they didn't think the contact was inappropriate.

Coe refused to be interviewed by police. But his lawyer told police Coe denied any wrongdoing.

The school system cited those alleged incidents, as well as several others, in its letter to Coe. One accusation is that he showed students a Facebook picture of himself dressed in women's clothes.

In another instance, Coe rubbed a female student's shoulders, according to the school system. A teacher asked him to stop because she thought it was inappro-priate.

Coe also told another teacher that he'd spanked a student in front of her mother off campus, according to the letter, but didn't describe the incident in detail.

Students also detailed how Coe had once grabbed a female student's cellphone from her back pocket, the letter says. The student jumped on his back, and they fell to the floor.

The school system also says he discussed the investigation on Facebook after he was told not to discuss it with anyone.

In a Jan. 30 post on the website, Coe told friends about his possible firing, blaming it in part on what "the girls made up."

"Everyone that has been involved will be summons into the trial," he wrote. "Everyone needs to pray this craziness gets stopped before it costs the taxpayers of Polk County thousands of dollars."

Coe, who earns $38,149 annually from the school system, said he now works for a private EMT service, and Positive Medical Transport, which has an office in Lakeland, confirmed that he's an employee there.

[ Matthew Pleasant can be reached at matthew.pleasant@theledger.com or 863-802- 7590. ]

<p>BARTOW | Polk school officials are considering whether to fire a Bartow Middle School teacher after police and school investigators scrutinized his behavior with female students, including the way he touched them during class exercises.</p><p>Jerry Coe, 46, hired in 2011 as a health science teacher, has been on paid leave since November, when two separate investigations began into his conduct.</p><p>Many of the allegations surround how Coe, an EMT who taught a medical-skills class, touched students while demonstrating medical techniques. A Bartow police officer called his tactics "concerning" in an investigative report, but a state prosecutor concluded no criminal acts had been uncovered.</p><p>Superintendent John Stewart deemed the school system investigator's findings serious enough to dismiss Coe, the school system told the teacher in a Jan. 30 letter. Don Wilson, a school system lawyer, said an employee's behavior doesn't have to be criminal to be cause for firing.</p><p>"The legal standard to determine that a crime occurred is different than the legal standards under which an employee can be terminated," Wilson said.</p><p>Coe has requested a hearing before an administrative law judge, who will weigh evidence and recommend whether School Board members should fire him at their March 19 meeting.</p><p>Reached by phone, Coe called the allegations lies.</p><p>"The truth will all come out at the hearing in front of a judge," he said.</p><p>The school system began investigating Coe on Nov. 13 after a student told her father that Coe inappropriately touched several female students. The father reported the allegations to Bartow Middle Principal Angela Gordon.</p><p>Police focused on how Coe touched students while demonstrating various medical exams in front of class. Students told police Coe seemed to choose female students for demonstrations. They described how he once demonstrated checking a patient for injuries and used the back of his hand to touch a female student's stomach and on or near her breast.</p><p>Some students told police that Coe told them he was going to show them how to check a patient in a manner that wouldn't be considered sexual battery.</p><p>At least one student told police she thought the way Coe touched students was inappropriate. But several others — including one who'd been touched in front of class — told police they didn't think the contact was inappropriate.</p><p>Coe refused to be interviewed by police. But his lawyer told police Coe denied any wrongdoing.</p><p>The school system cited those alleged incidents, as well as several others, in its letter to Coe. One accusation is that he showed students a Facebook picture of himself dressed in women's clothes.</p><p>In another instance, Coe rubbed a female student's shoulders, according to the school system. A teacher asked him to stop because she thought it was inappro-priate.</p><p>Coe also told another teacher that he'd spanked a student in front of her mother off campus, according to the letter, but didn't describe the incident in detail.</p><p>Students also detailed how Coe had once grabbed a female student's cellphone from her back pocket, the letter says. The student jumped on his back, and they fell to the floor.</p><p>The school system also says he discussed the investigation on Facebook after he was told not to discuss it with anyone.</p><p>In a Jan. 30 post on the website, Coe told friends about his possible firing, blaming it in part on what "the girls made up."</p><p>"Everyone that has been involved will be summons into the trial," he wrote. "Everyone needs to pray this craziness gets stopped before it costs the taxpayers of Polk County thousands of dollars."</p><p>Coe, who earns $38,149 annually from the school system, said he now works for a private EMT service, and Positive Medical Transport, which has an office in Lakeland, confirmed that he's an employee there.</p><p> </p><p>[ Matthew Pleasant can be reached at matthew.pleasant@theledger.com or 863-802- 7590. ]</p>